If you thought it was Jack Franks or Pam Althoff, you’re wrong. Neither of them have been able to snag a 5-year term in office. McHenry County Administrator Peter Austin, on the other hand, got a five-year contract extension. That … Continue reading
Almost two hours was spent by the McHenry County Human Services and Finance & Audit Committees discussing proposals for next year’s health coverage for non-union employees. At issue was about a $20 million budget item. Under proposals outlined by Cheryl … Continue reading
A press release from McHenry County: Ralph Sarbaugh, CFO of the Year Our very own Ralph Sarbaugh, Associate County Administrator – Finance, has been selected as one of nine honorees for this year’s Daily Herald CFO of the Year Award. Beginning his … Continue reading
Your homework for today is to read the 2nd Appellate Court decision reinstating McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi’s suit against one of the Special Prosecutors who indicted him on criminal charges that were so weak that they were tossed … Continue reading
At the last McHenry County Board meeting Diane Evertsen made an issue of Administrator Peter Austin’s contract extension. It is coming up and will automatically be renewed on May 27th, she said. Evertsen thought it appropriate for the Human Relations … Continue reading
Have to say I was disappointed with the Wipfli LLP Market Study Report presented at the joint meeting of the Valley Hi Operating Committee and Public Health and Human Services Committee. From the hour or so presentation and discussion I … Continue reading
While she isn’t mentioned by name, District 6 McHenry County Board candidate Ersel Schuster’s proposal to look at privatizing the Animal Control function received much discussion at the February 10th meeting of the Public Health & Human Services Committee meeting. … Continue reading
Here’s a memo to Mike Walkup, Joe Gottemoller and Peter Austin addressing the proposal of Walkup to transfer $37 million from the Valley Hi Fund to the General Fund in order to cut county government’s tax take by 50% for … Continue reading
The all-Republican McHenry County Board Tuesday night voted unanimously to cut the tax levy for the Valley Hi Nursing Home to zero. The significant amendment did not even require a roll call, as County Board Chairman Joe Gottemoller called for … Continue reading
Peter Austin unveiled graphic results of Valley Hi Administrator Tom Annarella’s modeling efforts Tuesday. All versions assumed that the levy would be cut from $3 million to $2.250 million. The first version, seen below, shows the Valley Hi bank account … Continue reading
At this point Barnes weighed in. “That’s concerns me,” she said. “You don’t solve that $20 million problem by [lowering the levy]. “I disagree,” Barnes replied. “If you’re going to be thinking about another facility,” Walkup said, “I think that … Continue reading
The Finance Committee has laid a dilemma in McHenry County Board Chairman Joe Gottemoller’s lap. The ordinance laying out the tax levy for county government was to be on the agenda of the next County Board meeting. It has to … Continue reading
Found the following report on Valley Hi, the County’s nursing home, in the minutes of the July 21st County Board meeting: Valley Hi, as you may remember has over $40 million in the bank, while the entire property tax levy … Continue reading
Even though the McHenry County Nursing Home (Valley Hi) had $40.8 million in the bank at the end of July and a budget of only about $10-11 million a year, the County Board is moving toward taxing another $3 million. … Continue reading
As I was entering the County Board’s Finance Committee last Thursday, Mary McCann was proposing an amendment to the resolution setting members’ salaries. Instead of the flat rate of $21,000 a year, she proposed returning to the per diem approach … Continue reading
That’s what NIU Today is reporting. The award is from the American Society of Public Administration’ Section on Intergovernmental Administration and Management. It will be given at the March meeting in Chicago. Austin was nominated for the Donald C. Stone Practitioner … Continue reading
After the Tuesday, January 6th meeting of the McHenry County Board, Northwest Herald reporter Kevin Craver thought the the refusal of the McHenry County Board to allow District 4 member John Hammerand was the biggest story of the night. That … Continue reading
Every year state law requires the posting of employee compensation packages of those taking home more than $150,000 a year. McHenry County’s report can be found below: You can click on the image to enlarge it, but I’ll summarize below … Continue reading
Today I went to the 8:30 AM meeting of the McHenry County Board’s Public Health Committee. Lots of interesting information surfaced as budgets from various departments were outlined. During the public comment time, I asked for an explanation of the … Continue reading
John Hammerand, the County Board member who first pointed out (twelve months ago) that the county was losing big bucks by housing Federal prisoners, spoke next: “You cannot manage what we don’t measure. “I’m thinking of [the need to] swear … Continue reading
